Training Ensues
Training for the November mission, Project SeaCamel, is underway as the Aquarius staff works to prepare the habitat and aquanaut candidates for upcoming underwater occupancy. The potential aquanaut team easily passed the swim test and has since been receiving briefings on the equipment they will be using, emergency procedures while living in and working around Aquarius, and going through drills on how to react should something happen with their gear or surroundings during the mission. Because the one thing they cannot do, is come to the surface before going through decompression. Yesterday the crew went over and practiced underwater navigation skills. Luckily, if conditions go bad underwater and visibility is reduced, the aquanauts have an undersea highway of cables to follow back to the safety of the habitat. Drills continue today and the staff goes on a little shopping trip to the grocery story to purchase food for undersea dining. During this mornings briefing about packing for their underwater stay, what happens to electronics under high pressure was a hot topic. All gear must be brought down by divers in watertight pressure pots, but some computers just don’t seem to work at 2.5 atmospheres. On this mission one aquanaut is considering bringing down an iphone – it could be the first used under the sea. Stay tuned for more as we head to splashdown on Monday!
Dr. Ellen Prager
Chief Scientist, Aquarius Reef Base
One Response So Far
Ron Peters | November 7th, 2007
Yes, the issue of certain lap top computers not functioning under hyperbaric conditions was addressed earlier (in the mid 1990s) by teams visiting the Jules Undersea Lodge and MarineLab facilities located in Key largo. Apparently some hard drives are encased in plastic and tend to compress a little when subjected to anything above 1.0ATM. this puts a strain on the disc bearing/bushing causing it to bind. However, if the hard drive is constructed of metal, the increase in atmospheric pressure usually does not have as dramatic an effect.
Additional info might be obtained from Marine Resources Development Foundation in Key Largo or from NASA in this issue.
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